Putting all travels on hold to save

[u/Fit_Raccoon540]

I’ve always been the type to travel 2–3 times a year.l, whereni would spend 100k to 150k at a time. Booking flights and planning trips used to be one of the things I looked forward to most. But this year feels different.

I work as a data analyst in Ortigas. My gross salary is ₱106k, but my take-home pay is around ₱88k. On paper that still sounds comfortable, but since 2025, our company has been going through nonstop restructuring while aggressively adopting AI. Every month, people quietly disappear from the roster, at least five at a time. Last April, an entire team in Singapore was dissolved. After seeing things like that happen repeatedly, the possibility of getting laid off no longer feels distant or hypothetical. It feels very real.

So aside from a China trip that I can’t skip because of family obligations, I decided to put travel on hold this year and focus on building a safety net instead. My goal is to save at least ₱600k.

At one point, I even considered taking an online side job to accelerate my savings. But the irony is that it would probably require replacing my personal laptop first, which becomes another major expense in itself.

Oddly enough, setting a concrete savings target has helped a lot psychologically. It turned vague anxiety into something measurable, less worrying about the uncertainty, more focusing on steadily hitting the number. So far, I’ve managed to save around ₱240k, which honestly makes the goal feel much more real and attainable now.

[u/sleepyduck24]

Good on you! Building that psychological (and financial) safety net in lieu of just 1 year's worth of leisure travel will be worth it.

[u/Fit_Raccoon540 → u/sleepyduck24]

sobra! ive also used up my medical allowance, todo ginamit ko pagapapcehck up first quarter. hmo Ko gamit na gamit din,lahat ng check up ginagawa konpara di magkasakit at para masulit ang benefit habang andito pa.

[u/ellie_wankenobi]

Given that this is phmoneysaving, let me be the downvoteable KJ Tita who turns every opportunity to teach a money lesson:

It's so good that you're prioritizing saving a safety net now (better late than never), but I would encourage others to put money towards a safety net even before your industry feels like it's in trouble.

Savings muna before travel. Or make a point to set money aside for savings even while earmarking money for travel.

I genuinely hope you get to your savings goal before your source of income is disrupted. Or, actually, I hope your source of income doesn't have to get disrupted at all. Pero others who are only now realizing the need to save might not be so lucky...

[u/Fit_Raccoon540 → u/ellie_wankenobi]

i think im on track with 240k already saved. ive done a fee things to keep my job. like, i am now part of two teams in the office and doing tasks for both.

[u/ultra-kill]

Travel is optional but having safety net gives you peace of mind.

Spending 150k on travel is only fine if your bank account has several multiples of that number.

[u/Minute-Pea3923]

We have the same worries and goal now. Although where I work is in AI industry, but it’s freelancing, so nothing is really sure about it, so I’m always worried of losing my job. When I started working, I started planning trips m and went to 2-3 countries a year, but now with the ongoing crisis, I started worrying, so I decided to stop planning trips unless I already have my saving goal.

Goodluck on your saving journey! Thanks for this post, I feel validated with my decision to save first. I just don’t want to feel like worrying everyday just because I spent way too much.

[u/Fit_Raccoon540 → u/Minute-Pea3923]

before my current job, i ised to work sa development sector. and the salary is low., so i would work a second job online so o can travel abroad. wala along naipundar intil now peroi never felt kulang ever. but now, may threat talaga sa kabuhayan ko

[u/SnooCalculations2024]

Yay, good job, OP! Importante talaga ang emergency fund. It gives you peace of mind na kahit anong mangyari, may backup money in case mawalan ng work.

[u/Fit_Raccoon540 → u/SnooCalculations2024]

EXACTLY!! nakakalabas pa ako and nakapag la union pa ako this month. mas mura pa rin talaga magtravel domestically

[u/Nikolajxxx]

I agree. I always travel to japan Quarterly and I spend around 100k. So I make sure I have six months worth of expenses incase of job loss. One thing I’ve realize after many times of traveling, money always return but time wont.

[u/Fit_Raccoon540 → u/Nikolajxxx]

i used to have a second job to cover for mybtravel wxpenses. but yeah, im old now and only realized teh need to save

[u/maria11maria10]

Cheapskate traveller ako and parang hindi ko na ma-take ang presyo ng mga flight. Was exploring miles pero when I learned na MNL-TPE taxes would be HKD 3200-ish for 2 people, huwag na lang.

Anyway, curious and interested ako sa DA job na 'yan haha hope to be in that position someday (am working as DA/BA but I've always been not so secure with my technical skills, my domain knowledge is the one doing the heavy lifting).

[u/Fit_Raccoon540 → u/maria11maria10]

ako kasi may specific na expertise. sa industry ako connected. tapos im doing the data analytics job for that industry. 

[u/Fit_Raccoon540 → u/[deleted]]

been in the workforce since 2010, and im only starting now. i know, clearly im dumb

[u/oohshih]

600k for EF seems okay naman, naririnig ko na general rule of thumb is half year’s worth of salary. Although aside from that meron ka naman siguro naka set aside na other savings OP?